Among the biggest current challenges for the Church in the U.S. is addressing those who say theyre Catholic but dont believe what the Catholic Church teaches, the archbishop stated. The hardest thing is to convince them that they need to change.

Encouraging news! Personally speaking, I am responsible for our parish bulletin. Having served for several years as Director for Religious Education, I am using the bulletin as a way to 'educate' the parishioners via a column entitled 'Year of Faith'. Last week, I wrote on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and supplemented the information with a discourse between Pope Benedict XVI and a group of children preparing for their First Communion. One child commented that his teacher told him that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist but the child was confused and said "I can't see him". To this the pope noted that we don't see electricity but when we flip a switch in the house, the lights turn on. We can't see reason but we know it is true because we use it every day.

Yesterday, one of the parishioners pulled me aside and applauded that article. It had touched her heart and she was enjoying the weekly series. That feedback was very welcome and important in shaping how I continue to pursue the weekly articles. We are all called upon to evangelize; sometimes that must begin at home.

2 posted on 11/19/2012 3:04:16 PM PST by NYer
("Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." --Jeremiah 1:5)